Alivio Therapeutics receives DoD grant to advance development of new therapy for IC/BPS

Alivio Therapeutics, an affiliate of PureTech Health plc (LSE: PRTC) developing therapies to treat inflammatory disorders through targeted disease immunomodulation, today announced a $3.3 million U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Technology/Therapeutic Development Award to advance Alivio’s product candidate, ALV-107, for the treatment of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) with Hunner’s lesions. The funds will support Alivio’s preclinical research and development activities, including GMP manufacturing, to enable the filing of an investigational new drug (IND) application for ALV-107.

Alivio’s inflammation-targeting technology is designed to administer therapeutics to the sites of inflammation, while sparing healthy tissue. The technology is also engineered to respond dynamically to inflammation, releasing the entrapped therapeutics based on the degree of inflammation present. This approach is being evaluated across a variety of diseases, including IC/BPS, pouchitis, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

J. Curtis Nickel, M.D. FRCSC, Professor, CIHR Canada Research Chair in Urologic Pain and Inflammation at Queen’s University said, “Interstitial cystitis is one of the most important unmet needs in urology. New therapies that can offer long-lasting relief from the pain associated with the disease would make a major impact in the lives of patients. I am hopeful that this award will accelerate development of this potentially new therapy for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and look forward to seeing ALV-107’s impact in the clinic.”

“Our inflammation-targeting technology approach has the potential to treat a range of chronic and acute inflammatory disorders, such as interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome with Hunner’s lesions, that would otherwise be difficult to treat,” said Eric Elenko, Ph.D., PureTech’s Chief of Strategy and Research and Alivio Co-founder. “ALV-107 could potentially offer a novel therapeutic option to improve the health of patients living with this devastating disease, and this award will help to support our effort to advance ALV-107 towards the clinic.”

Alivio’s platform technology has demonstrated proof-of-concept in ten different preclinical models of inflammation including a validated preclinical model for the treatment of IC/BPS. ALV-107 showed durable pain control throughout a 24-hour study period in this model of IC/BPS, lasting at least 12 times longer than lidocaine at a comparable dose (ALV-107 16 mg/kg, conventional lidocaine 16 mg/kg). Beyond ALV-107, Alivio is advancing additional product candidates to enable new immunomodulatory therapies and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), including biologics, and nucleic acids for inflammatory conditions of the GI tract and other parts of the body.